Couple sells Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation land with fake papers

A house that has been built on a portion of the MTDC land

The Gorai police have booked a couple for allegedly selling about half an acre of government land with forged documents. The police said the accused had claimed a portion of a plot belonging to the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation as their ancestral property.

The alleged fraud was exposed after MTDC officials were tipped in May about encroachment on the land. MTDC owns about 128 acres of land in Gorai in survey nos. 46, 53,54,56,57,59.

MTDC had tried to consolidate its landholding in the area in 2007, but the exercise was halted after locals went to court, said sources. The court had ordered that no construction of any kind would be done on the land without its permission, said an MTDC official.

In March, a person named Dashrath Chavan informed MTDC about the alleged encroachment. He said he had struck a deal with a couple - Dinesh Pavle and his wife Fatima - for a big plot for Rs 20 lakh last year and paid them Rs 12 lakh. However, locals later told Chavan that there was a legal tangle over its ownership.

"Acting on the information, we carried out a survey. It was found that 20-25 guntha [a guntha is about .025 acre] from survey no. 53 had been encroached upon and a house had been built on it," said senior legal administrator Subhash Dhekne of MTDC.

Following a complaint by the tourism corporation, the local police launched a probe and found Pavle and his wife had made forged papers to pass off the land as their ancestral property.

"The couple made bogus papers to show that the land belonged to their family. We suspect the involvement of more people in this fraud," said an officer from Gorai police station. The officer added, "We began the investigation last week. No arrest has been made yet."

Avoid land fraud

A chunk of the MTDC plot, barricaded with asbestos sheets, that was illegally sold

According to advocate Vijay Shukla, who practises in Bombay High Court, there are a few steps that one must follow while buying land or any property. "If a person is careful, then he can avoid cheating," he said.

. Obtain property search records from the office of the sub-registrar of assurances

. Get a "clear and marketable" title certificate from an advocate

. Get property cards, mutation entries available with the city survey office thoroughly checked

. A buyer has to give public notice in 2 leading newspapers, one in English and the other in the local language, giving 14 days time to file written objections along with documentary evidence subtending ownership rights of the property